Israel to weigh first official recognition of Armenian genocide amid tensions

Maghakian Mike
YNet, Israel

June 25 2026

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar will ask the government to approve a resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide on the basis of a ‘moral and historical duty,’ a move likely to anger Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as Washington considers selling F-35 jets to Ankara

Itamar Eichner

Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar will ask the government to approve a resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide on the basis of a ‘moral and historical duty,’ a move likely to anger Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as Washington considers selling F-35 jets to Ankara

Itamar Eichner|Yesterday | 22:17

A day after U.S. President Donald Trump praised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and as Washington weighs a possible sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, Israel is moving toward a step Erdogan is unlikely to welcome.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced Thursday evening that he will bring to the next government meeting a resolution calling for Israel’s first official government recognition of the Armenian genocide.

The draft resolution says that “on the basis of the moral and historical duty, Israel will recognize the genocide committed against the Armenian people in the final period of the Ottoman Empire.”
It also says Israel should condemn the denial, minimization or distortion of the historical truth surrounding those events.
The explanatory notes to the proposal say the Armenian genocide began in April 1915 with the arrest, deportation and killing of hundreds of Armenian intellectuals, leaders and educated figures in Constantinople.
After eliminating the community’s leadership, the Ottoman government began the systematic destruction of the Armenian population, the proposal says. Men were conscripted for forced labor and murdered. Women, children and the elderly were expelled from their homes and sent on long death marches toward the Syrian desert, where they were subjected to mass murder, rape, starvation and deliberate thirst.
According to the proposal, the campaign led to the deaths of about 1.5 million people and destroyed a cultural and historical heritage thousands of years old across Anatolia.
The draft also says that despite “extensive and unequivocal historical documentation,” the Armenian genocide remains the subject of a state-backed campaign of denial and minimization, including the manipulation and rewriting of history books, mainly by Turkey.
The proposal notes that 32 countries have recognized the Armenian genocide in various ways, and says Israel should do so “in light of the moral and historical duty.” It also calls for condemning any attempt to blur, minimize or deny the atrocities.
Trump said Wednesday that Erdogan had been a “leading candidate” to join Iran in the war because, in Trump’s words, he is “not a big fan of Israel.” Trump, who said earlier this month that there would be no confrontation between Israel and Turkey as long as he is president, added that he had asked Erdogan to stay out of the conflict and that Erdogan did so.
“I like him, he’s a friend of mine and he stayed out of the war with Iran,” Trump said of Erdogan.
The issue of Armenian genocide recognition has surfaced several times in Israel but has never been adopted as an official government position.
A decade ago, the Knesset Education Committee declared its recognition of the Armenian genocide. In May 2018, against the backdrop of worsening ties between Israel and Turkey, the Knesset plenum approved a discussion and vote on similar recognition, but the government has not recognized the genocide to date.
Two years ago, Defense Minister Israel Katz wrote on X that “Turkey committed a Holocaust against the Armenians,” and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last year that he recognized the Armenian genocide.

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Iraq nominates Iraqi-Armenian diplomat as Ambassador to US

Emil Lazarian
Iraqi News

June 26, 2026

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Iraq has named Iraqi Armenian diplomat Krikor Der-Hagopian its new ambassador to the United States in a decision that signals both Baghdad’s desire to deepen ties with Washington and the country’s rich history of religious and ethnic diversity. 

Arabs& Middle Easterners

Der-Hagopian, a veteran Iraqi diplomat who has worked in diplomatic and political posts for many years, is a key advisor to Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi.

If the United States confirms him, he would be Iraq’s first non-muslim ambassador to Washington in decades.

The nomination is part of a wider Iraqi push to broaden ties with the United States beyond security problems, with greater attention on commerce, investment, energy, and economic collaborations, regional officials said.

The nomination is also a symbolic victory for Iraq’s Armenian minority, which has been part of the fabric of Iraqi society for almost a century.

During and after the Armenian genocide in the early 20th century, thousands of Armenians sought refuge in Iraq, settling in such towns as Baghdad, Mosul, Basra, and Kirkuk.

Through centuries, Iraqi Armenians built churches, schools, companies, and cultural institutions and were important to the country’s social, economic, and cultural life while maintaining their language and customs.

Today, Iraq’s Armenian community is one of the oldest in the Middle East, and many analysts say Der-Hagopian’s nomination reflects the role Iraq’s different groups have played in the country’s growth and public life.

The nomination comes as Baghdad and Washington are looking to deepen bilateral collaboration.

In recent conversations, the security links that have traditionally bound Iraq and the United States have also come to include investment, energy, technology, and economic growth.

If approved, Der-Hagopian would be the first person of Armenian descent to represent Iraq in one of its most significant diplomatic posts and would also serve to underscore the country’s diverse character and the involvement of its minority populations in public service and national institutions.

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Internet transit between Armenia and Azerbaijan: Interdependence and prospects

Emil Lazarian
JAM News

June 25, 2026
  • JAMnews
  • Baku

The signing of a bilateral commercial agreement on internet traffic transit between Baku and Yerevan marks one of the most significant practical steps towards cooperation in the South Caucasus in recent years.

Under the agreement between AzerTelecom and Telecom Armenia, the two companies will exchange international internet traffic through each other’s infrastructure. The deal also provides for the possible construction of a fibre-optic link connecting mainland Azerbaijan with Nakhchivan via Armenian territory.

Although the agreement comes amid the ongoing peace process, it does not amount to a comprehensive political settlement. Experts say it creates new economic and infrastructure interdependence between the two countries and could strengthen the region’s digital resilience.

What does the agreement involve?

Under the agreement, AzerTelecom will route international internet traffic destined for Armenia through its network.

In turn, Telecom Armenia will provide transit services for internet traffic destined for Azerbaijan. One of the agreement’s most significant practical outcomes is that it could allow Azerbaijan to establish a fibre-optic connection with the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic via Armenian territory.

Both operators say the agreement expands the region’s transit routes and improves network resilience.

Azerbaijan’s assessment

Vugar Bayramov, a member of Azerbaijan’s Milli Majlis, describes the agreement as Azerbaijan’s contribution to building lasting peace in the South Caucasus.

According to Bayramov, Armenia wants to diversify its imports of various services, including internet connectivity, and is strengthening cooperation with Azerbaijan as part of that effort. He argues that agreements of this kind also reinforce Azerbaijan’s geopolitical position and help shape a new model of regional cooperation.

Aleksandr Tvaradze, director of an IT company, focuses on the agreement’s technical benefits. He says Azerbaijan will gain an additional backup communications route. Although the country already has a direct connection with Iran, unforeseen circumstances could disrupt that link. Armenia’s existing connections with Iran and Georgia would provide Azerbaijan with an alternative route.

Tvaradze also says Azerbaijan could generate revenue from data transit by taking advantage of its geographic location. He compares the model to the role the country has played for years as an energy transit hub through oil and gas pipelines such as the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline.

He adds that the agreement could attract investment in ICT infrastructure and support the development of data centres.

Opportunities and challenges

Analysts see the agreement’s main advantage in diversifying the region’s digital infrastructure. Alternative routes for both countries would make their networks more resilient and better able to withstand potential disruptions. From an economic perspective, the deal could also generate transit revenues and attract investment in the ICT sector.

However, experts warn that the agreement also creates new forms of interdependence. Because part of the physical infrastructure will run through the neighbouring country, technical and security issues could become more complex.

The agreement also comes without a comprehensive political framework. Key issues, including amendments to Armenia’s Constitution and the signing of a peace treaty, remain unresolved. As a result, the long-term stability of the arrangement may remain uncertain.

Some observers believe this type of practical cooperation could help build trust between the two countries. Others warn that, in times of political tension, infrastructure projects could become vulnerable targets.

Outlook

At this stage, the agreement remains primarily technical and commercial in nature. Its success will depend on how effectively it is implemented, as well as on pricing policies and the technical capabilities of both sides. For the region, it also offers an opportunity to strengthen the South Caucasus’s role as a digital bridge between Europe and Asia.

Experts say that if this initiative leads to broader cooperation in areas such as transport, energy and trade, it could encourage deeper regional integration. Otherwise, its impact is likely to remain limited and largely technical.

The internet transit agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia therefore creates both new opportunities and new challenges. Its main significance lies in the fact that it establishes interdependence based on economic and technical interests. Over time, this could provide a foundation for broader cooperation, but only if political will and mutual trust continue to grow.

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Israel turns Armenian suffering into political weapon as feud with Turkiye dee

Boshkezenian Garik
June 26, 2026

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has said he will bring a resolution before the Israeli government to recognise the Armenian Genocide, in a move that comes amid worsening ties with Turkiye and is likely to fuel criticism that Israel is turning Armenian suffering into a political weapon.

Sa’ar said on X that he would bring “a proposed resolution for the official recognition by the Government of Israel of the Armenian Genocide” before the government at its next meeting.

“Recognising the genocide perpetrated against the Armenian people in the final years of the Ottoman Empire is both a moral and historical duty,” he said, adding that Israel must also condemn “any denial, minimisation, or distortion of the historical truth.” The resolution would then be brought before the Knesset for a vote.

The announcement comes as relations between Israel and Turkiye have deteriorated sharply over Gaza, Syria and Israel’s confrontation with Iran. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly condemned Israel’s assault on Gaza, while Ankara has restricted trade with Israel and positioned itself as one of the strongest regional critics of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.

Israel has also increasingly cast Turkiye as a strategic threat with Ankara increasingly described in Israeli discourse as the “next Iran”. Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard suggested that Turkiye and Egypt could become Israel’s next military targets, echoing a growing Israeli narrative that casts Ankara as the “new Iran” and a future strategic enemy.

The timing of Sa’ar’s proposal is likely to be met with cynicism. Israel has for decades stopped short of formally recognising the Armenian Genocide, a position critics say has been shaped less by historical fact than by political interest, including the desire to preserve ties with Turkiye and Azerbaijan.

Read: Turkish top diplomat says Netanyahu seeking to designate Turkey as a new enemy

Critics are likely to argue that the sudden push for recognition, at a moment of open confrontation with Ankara, risks turning Armenian suffering into a political tool in Israel’s dispute with Turkiye.

The Armenian Genocide refers to the mass killing, deportation and persecution of Armenians during the final years of a weakened Ottoman Empire, when secular nationalists from the Young Turk movement and the Committee of Union and Progress held state power.

Many historians say the campaign formed part of a nationalist project to remake the empire from a multi-ethnic order into a more homogeneous Turkish state. Around 1.5 million Armenians are estimated to have been killed. Turkiye rejects the genocide label, acknowledging mass deaths during the First World War but denying that the killings formed part of a systematic extermination campaign.

Israel’s record on the issue has long drawn criticism from Armenian communities and human rights advocates. Parliamentary efforts to recognise the genocide have repeatedly failed or stalled, often amid concerns that doing so would damage relations with Turkiye or Azerbaijan.

For Turkiye, the move is likely to be viewed as a hostile political gesture. For Armenians, it may raise a different concern: that long-denied recognition of their suffering is being advanced only because it is seen as being useful in Israel’s feud with Ankara.

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Kurdish Press: Armenian Language Foundation holds courses to promote Their Mot

Alex Nanijanian

Kurdish Press – Syria
June 25 2026

Armenian Language Foundation of al-Hasakah is still holding Armenian language courses for people of all ages as one of its ways to revive their mother tongue and preserve their cultural identity. The Armenian Language Foundation also demands that their language be introduced into Syria’s programs.

NEWS
 25 June, 2026    05:55
AL-HASAKAH

Two years ago, Armenian Language Foundation launched Armenian language courses for learners of any age from learning the alphabet and then moving on to grammar and conversation. This initiative attempts to revive the mother tongue of the Armenian people and introduce it into the Syrian educational program.

As part of this campaign, teachers and learners who attend the training course have given an interview to ANHA news agency concerning the goals of the program and the activities of the foundation.

Teacher Fairouz Abdo said: “When the Armenian Community Foundation was founded, teaching the Armenian language became one of the main priorities of the foundation. And this was six years ago. Today, the Armenian Language Foundation is restoring the native language of the Armenian people.”

She continued: “Today, we have about 20 students and 9 teachers. Some of the participants study and teach simultaneously. We teach young men and women and, in the future, we want to organize language courses for children during the vacation period. We start with the alphabet and proceed to teach grammar, sentence construction, conversations, and all other elements of the language.”

Abdo said that their goal is to achieve constitutional status of the Armenian language and include it in curricula, at least once a week.

In addition, she noted that although foreign languages like English and French are given importance, the languages spoken by the indigenous people of Syria are generally neglected.

“It will be better to start recognizing the languages of the communities of Syria before moving forward to others,” she reiterated.

On the other hand, Sandra Kasabian, who is both a student and a teacher said: “I am a student and a teacher at the same time. I keep learning even as I teach students who are not as experienced as I am. As Armenians, we wish to be recognized like other communities in Syria, especially our language and culture. We want our next generation to learn their mother tongue so they do not lose their language like we did.”

She continued: “Currently, we are working on a curriculum which will be implemented at educational institutes. It will last for two years, covering only the basics of the Armenian language.”

To conclude, Sandra called for the recognition of the Armenian language as any other in Syria, stating that the life of a nation depends on the life of its language.

The experience of Student Evanoush Kasabian was shared as well:

“My father was very busy with work; therefore, he did not have an opportunity to teach me Armenian. But as I loved my language, I enrolled in the foundation in order to study it. Initially, I thought that it would be very difficult, but in the course of time, I understood that it was not so complicated as I thought it was even easier than I thought.”

She continued: “Our goal is that our language should be in the curricula of schools. We do not want the future generations to lack the knowledge of their native language like we lacked it when we were young. Why should I speak another language when I have my own?”

ANHA


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Sa’ar to bring Armenian Genocide recognition to vote, cites Israel’s ‘moral, h

Emil Lazarian
Jerusalem Post

June 26, 2026

As of 2026, 32 UN member states, including the United States, Canada, Russia, and Germany, have formally recognized the genocide.

ByMIRIAM SELA-EITAMJUNE 26, 2026 01:43

A resolution for Israel to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide will be submited at the upcoming government meeting by Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar.

Sa’ar, announcing the resolution in a Thursday post to X/Twitter, said that the proposed resolution will afterward be brought before the Knesset for a vote.

“Recognizing the genocide perpetrated against the Armenian people in the final years of the Ottoman Empire is both a moral and historical duty,” Sa’ar affirmed. “We must also firmly condemn any denial, minimization, or distortion of the historical truth.”

“Despite the extensive and unambiguous historical documentation, the Armenian Genocide remains to this day the subject of an institutionalized campaign of denial and minimization, including a manipulative rewriting of history books, mainly by Turkey,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

As of 2026, 32 UN member states, including the United States, Canada, Russia, and Germany, have formally recognized the genocide.

The Holy See and the European Parliament have also officially recognized the genocide.

Over 200 memorials have been erected across 32 countries to commemorate the event.

What is the Armenian Genocide?

The Armenian Genocide began in April 1915 and led to the deaths of approximately 1.5 million Armenians, as well as the systematic destruction of their heritage and culture.

Spearheaded by the Ottoman Empire’s Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), the Ottoman government arrested, deported, and murdered hundreds of Armenian intellectuals and leaders in Constantinople before turning its attention to the remaining populace.

Between 100,000 to 200,000 Armenian women and children were forcibly converted to Islam, and an estimated 800,000 to 1.2 million Armenians were forced on death marches through the Syrian desert, suffering mass murder, rape, starvation and thirst.

Survivors of the marches were sentenced to concentration camps, however the ethnic cleansing of survivors, carried out by Turkish nationalists, continued on through the Turkish War of Independence (1919–1923).

There are roughly 11 million ethnic Armenians alive today.

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Russia bans fish imports from all suppliers in Armenia

Anna Tamamian
Panorama, Armenia

June 26, 2026

Russia has banned imports of fish and fish products from all suppliers in Armenia who had the right to export to the country, Interfax reported on Friday.

Russian plant and animal health watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor reported that it had asked Armenia’s Food Safety Inspection Body to suspend veterinary certification of live fish and fish products (in any processed form) from two Armenian companies, MF Export LLC and Invest Plus LLC, as of June 19, 2026.

Rosselkhoznadzor also issued an order to its regional divisions and Russia’s Federal Customs Service “to ensure control over the prevention of imports of products from these businesses into the Russian Federation.”

Thus, all former Armenian suppliers have been stripped of the right to export fish and fish products to Russia.

Rosselkhoznadzor had earlier issued an order on May 29 to prevent imports of live fish and fish products (in any processed form) from all Armenian companies with the exception of MF Export LLC and Invest Plus LLC as of June 2.

Imports from these two companies were subject to enhanced laboratory control due to the discovery of dangerous substances (leucomalachite green, methylene blue, fluoroquinolones and chlortetracycline), as well as pathogens. Rosselkhoznadzor then amended the May 29 order to also apply the restrictions against these two companies.

Imports of products from two other Armenian companies, Texworld LLC and Blue Ocean LLC, were banned earlier because they refused to take part in inspections by Russian experts that were conducted from May 21 to 27, 2026. “Due to the refusal to conduct inspections, the status of Teksworld LLC and Blue Ocean LLC is changed to ‘temporarily restricted,'” Rosselkhoznadzor materials said.

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Israel Moves to Recognize Armenian Genocide in Major Diplomatic Blow to Turkey

Vorskanian Yeghisabet
Greek City Times
June 26, 2026

Israel Moves to Recognize Armenian Genocide in Major Diplomatic Blow to Turkey

by Bill Giannopoulos

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar has announced he will submit a formal proposal to the next government meeting for Israel to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide.

In a strong statement, Sa’ar described the recognition as “a moral and historical duty” and emphasized that Israel must also condemn any denial, degradation, or distortion of this historical truth.

Once approved by the government, the resolution will be brought before the Knesset for a vote.

The decision is widely viewed as a significant diplomatic rebuke to Turkey, which has long denied that the systematic mass killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire between 1915 and 1923 constituted genocide.

This development comes amid heightened tensions between Jerusalem and Ankara and marks a notable shift in Israel’s official position on one of the 20th century’s most tragic events.

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Turkish envoy congratulates Ruben Rubinyan on nomination as Armenian parliamen

Vorskanian Yeghisabet
Panorama, Armenia

June 26, 2026

Turkey’s special envoy for the Armenia normalization process, Serdar Kilic, on Thursday congratulated his Armenian counterpart Ruben Rubinyan following his nomination as speaker of Armenia’s National Assembly.

In a post on X, Kilic said they had cultivated “an efficient working culture and a sincere friendship” throughout their engagement.

“I congratulate Ruben Rubinyan, my counterpart in the Turkey-Armenia normalization process, on his election as Speaker of the Armenian Parliament. Over the past four years, we have established an efficient working culture and a sincere friendship. I wish him continued success in his new position,” he wrote.

The congratulatory message followed Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s announcement that Rubinyan had been nominated as parliament speaker by the ruling Civil Contract party.

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Israeli government to review Armenian Genocide recognition plan, minister says

Albert Nalbandian

June 26, 2026

Israeli foreign minister Gideon Saar said he will submit a proposal at the next cabinet meeting for Israel to officially recognise the Armenian Genocide.

Under the proposal, which requires government approval, Israel would recognise the mass killings of Armenians during the late Ottoman Empire and condemn attempts to deny, minimise or distort the genocide.

“Recognizing the genocide perpetrated against the Armenian people in the final years of the Ottoman Empire is both a moral and historical duty. 
We must also firmly condemn any denial, minimization, or distortion of the historical truth,” he said. 

“The resolution will subsequently be brought before the Knesset for a vote,” he added.

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